Ward 126 projects get off the ground

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Infrastructure upgrades to various sections of Ward 126, including Weltevreden Park and Randpark Ridge, are expected to commence soon, following the approval of funds.

The councillor for the ward, David Brand, gave an in-depth analysis of the various construction projects that are expected to begin this month, with an estimated budget of about R70 million that forms part of the estimated R150 million allocated to the ward for service improvement in the previous financial year.

The Northsider took a closer look into the three projects that are about to start:

The reconstruction of the closed Spring Road bridge

Earlier on, Brand announced the appointment of a contractor approved by the Johannesburg Roads Agency (JRA) to reconstruct the Spring Road bridge, which has been closed since 2017.

“The contractor has been appointed; it’s WBHO, a company that has been around for over 60 years. By law, they had to apply for a work permit, which they have obtained from the Department of Labour. They are busy setting up at the moment, procuring equipment and making plans for their approach to the project,” he explained.

Brand explained the different approach that the contractor will use to rebuild the bridge. “The foundations of the original bridge were undermined, eventually causing serious problems. This time, the contractor will be putting down eight piles using a pile driver (a device used to drive piles into the soil to provide foundational support for buildings). The idea is that this device will hammer through the sand and soil down to the bedrock, to an estimated depth of 6 metres. Once there, eight piles will be inserted, making a stable base for building on the surface. This structure won’t be shaken by natural disasters such as flooding. ”

Brand added that the contractor will also be putting gabion baskets (large steel baskets filled with rocks) on either side of the bridge to prevent flooding and to protect the river banks, because the previous banks eroded.

For the next 13 months, Spring Road bridge will be a huge trench; however, Brand indicated that a temporary pedestrian bridge will be set up for residents.

Slip road leading from John Vorster Road into JG Strydom Road

The corner of John Vorster Road, turning into JG Strydom Road has caused traffic delays for many years, but this will be a thing of the past very soon.

Brand elaborated on the slip road that is being built to alleviate traffic congestion.

“In the next three months, a dedicated left turn lane will be completed on the west-bound side of John Vorster Road, turning into JG Strydom Road, which will relieve the congestion caused by traffic heading into Weltevreden Park, especially in the afternoons,” he said.

Traffic circle on Eastwood and Scott Avenues

The huge island which separates Eastwood and Scott Avenues will be transformed into an enormous traffic circle in the next month or so. This, according to Brand, will help reduce speeding in that area.

“People have been speeding terribly on Eastwood Avenue. This has caused numerous accidents as drivers would realise later that the road has an island at the intersection leading into Scott Avenue, get confused, swerve onto the pavement and end up plunging into a property wall, part of which has been replaced with precast walling,” he explained.

He added that the project finally received some funding from the Integrated Development Plan this year, and construction on the circle will be starting in the next few days. This will force drivers to slow down when approaching the circle, unlike before. He also added that one lane of the existing road on the Eastwood Avenue side will be affected during the construction of the circle.

Brand mentioned that all three of these projects will have community liaison officers appointed to interact with the communities in the ward.